The victims of child sex offender Jeffrey Donaldson have described the impact the abuse had on them.
Donaldson was convicted in June of 18 counts of sex abuse including one of rape, which he committed against two women when they were children.
The former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader appeared at Newry Crown Court for a hearing prior to his sentencing in October. He is seeking to appeal his convictions.
The prosecution barrister told the court that one of the women said her childhood had been stolen, while the second said the abuse affected her every day.
In her submission to the pre-sentencing hearing, Rosemary Walsh KC outlined what she described as the “salient facts” that were heard during the course of the trial.
She also described the impact the offending had on both victims, whom were described during the trial as Complainants A and B.
She said both complainants often wondered what life would have been like if they hadn’t experienced the abuse.
In her victim impact statement, Complainant A described the “profound impact” the abuse had on her.
Walsh said the complainant believed her childhood had been “stolen” and that she felt an “enormous amount of anger that is always simmering away under the surface”.
Walsh said the abuse Complainant B had suffered affected her “every day and every relationship”, and that she had to fight on a daily basis the wish that she would die.
The prosecution barrister also outlined further aggravating and mitigating factors.
She said, in sentencing, the youth of the victims had to be taken account, as well as the “multitude of offences”, which “spanned a considerable period of time”, and the fact there were two victims.
Donaldson’s defence barrister Keiron Vaughan KC told the court that the 63-year-old was “of previous good character” and that there had been no offending of this type over the last 18 years.
“In that period of time, Mr Donaldson has or did achieve significant things in his life,” he said.
“I readily accept that these convictions obliterate all those achievements that he has made in his life, and that’s certainly something he will have to live with.”
Vaughan said he acknowledged the court would impose a “lengthy custodial sentence”, but that he had complete confidence that the court would treat Donaldson in the same way it would any other defendant of a similar age and in similar circumstances.
Addressing Donaldson directly, Judge Paul Ramsey said: “Mr Donaldson, I will be sentencing you as soon as I can next month.”
His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, faced a trial of the facts on mental health grounds, meaning she was not required to participate in the proceedings.
She was accused of five related charges, including four counts of aiding and abetting.
She was found to have done the acts of which she was accused – a verdict which she is to appeal.
Eleanor Donaldson cannot be given a prison sentence, she could, however, be given a treatment order or an absolute discharge.
She was not required to participate in the proceedings.
However, Judge Ramsey told her defence barrister Ian Turkington KC that in dealing with her, he “would like to be able to speak directly to her” and therefore requested that she appear via video link if she is deemed medically fit to do so.
